Hitchcock had just been elevated to coach the Dallas Stars after running the club's top minor-league affiliate in Kalamazoo, Mich. Noel admired Hitchcock's style and, in his own words, tried to become a "Ken Jr."

It didn't work.

"I tried to coach in the same way," Noel said. "That isn't a bad thing, but it wasn't my personality and so I lost myself in there for 2 1/2 years."

As Noel takes over again for Hitchcock, fired yesterday by the Blue Jackets, he will rely on lessons learned from over two decades of coaching and the importance of staying true to himself.

At 54, Noel begins his first stint as an NHL head coach stressing clarity and accountability. He must get the best out of players without overwhelming them, particularly the younger ones.

"I know one thing: Less is going to be more for me," Noel said. "I am not going to hammer down on them (today) with 30 things we want to do in the one game.

"I'm very confident we are going to get what we want, and we want to get it as quick as we can, but you have to be careful that you aren't overloading the circuits."

General manager Scott Howson said Noel will finish the season before the organization weighs its options on a permanent coach.

Noel steps into a difficult situation with little hope of turning around a disappointing season.

These scenarios, in which an NHL assistant replaces the coach at midseason, rarely lead to full-time employment, but there are exceptions. Tampa Bay coach Rick Tocchet took over for Barry Melrose, who was fired early last season.

Noel has a 24-game audition during which he must change from idiosyncratic assistant to the coach who determines ice time.

The days of having Derick Brassard or Jared Boll fetch him a Gatorade because they were on the losing end of a practice bet are over.

Noel developed a reputation for being a hard-nosed, demanding coach in winning an American Hockey League title in 2004 and competing for a another two years later for Nashville's top affiliate. But Noel says there's another side that allows him to connect with players, something he struggled to do in Kalamazoo from 1995 to '98.

Finding humor and joy in his relations with players and coaches has become important.

"It took me two years of self-analysis while I went back to be an assistant coach," said Noel, the 2004 AHL coach of the year. "I had to dig in and look back at how I dealt with the leaders, how I dealt with players. I didn't like what I saw."

His ability to reach the Jackets' younger players, considered one of Hitchcock's biggest deficiencies, will be crucial to his future with the organization.

"He's had a good track record of working with young players in the minors," forward Derek Dorsett said. "He's won at almost every level, and he's a coach who will hold us accountable."

Noel said players will have a clear understanding of what is expected of them. He doesn't plan to reinvent the way the Jackets play, especially in the short term, but will strive for a more aggressive, passionate brand of hockey.

Yesterday was a bittersweet day for Noel, getting his first NHL head coaching position at the expense of a longtime friend. He was supposed to spend last night making calls to select players, telling them what would be expected.

"I'm trying to get the A-games out of the players," he said. "I have confidence in my abilities just as Ken had confidence in his abilities. I'm just hopeful the players are going to listen and pay attention and we will get it done.

"We are a lot alike in some ways, but the technique is a little different, and it's tied around our personalities."